Beating the Books: UFC Fight Night 155

UFC Fight Night 155 on Saturday provided a lineup full of upsets, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship touched down in Sacramento, California. Seven underdogs on the 12-fight card emerged victorious, and they supply the material for this edition of Beating the Books.

Germaine de Randamie (+100)

The main event saw de Randamie finish Aspen Ladd via TKO just 16 seconds into the first round, but the fight was not without controversy. Although de Randamie knocked down Ladd with a vicious straight right, many observers felt referee Herb Dean stopped the fight too early, as it appeared Ladd still had her wits about her. Regardless, de Randamie won the fight and closed as a +100 underdog. Ten of the last 12 UFC main events have seen a betting underdog win.

Urijah Faber (+320)

The highlight of the show saw Faber return to the Octagon for the first time since 2016 and record a massive upset win with a first-round knockout over Ricky Simon. Faber caught Simon with an overhand right and then finished him with ground-and-pound to whip the hometown crowd into a frenzy. Faber closed as a +320 underdog.

Josh Emmett (+150)

In one of the top performances at UFC Fight Night 155, Emmett finished Mirsad Bektic via first-round TKO. Emmett showed off his incredible knockout power once again, as he managed to hurt Bektic and then swarmed him until the referee stopped the fight. Emmett closed at +150.

John Allan Arte (+340)

The biggest upset as far as the odds were concerned belonged to a light heavyweight newcomer in Arte, as he made a successful UFC debut with a unanimous decision win over Mike Rodriguez. Though Rodriguez appeared to take the first round, Arte responded with a strong effort in the second and third to pick up a solid victory. Arte closed as a massive +340 underdog.

Jonathan Martinez (+180)

In a bantamweight pairing, Martinez knocked out Pingyuan Liu with a third-round knee strike. It appeared as though Martinez was in line for a decision win before the stoppage, but he took the judges out of the equation with a highlight-reel finish. Martinez closed as a +180 underdog.

Brianna Van Buren (-105)

In a women’s strawweight affair, Van Buren picked up a win in her first UFC appearance as she took home a unanimous decision over Livinha Souza. It was a solid promotional debut from Van Buren, as she controlled all aspects of the fight and won a clear decision. Van Buren closed as a -105 underdog.

Ryan Hall (-105)

In a featherweight tilt, Hall took a close unanimous decision from Darren Elkins. It was an uneventful fight in which not much action took place, but all three judges felt Hall won the fight on points. Hall got his hand raised as a -105 underdog.

Adam Martin is a mixed martial arts journalist who has been covering the sport since 2011. He is currently the lead odds analyst for Sherdog.com as well as the lead staff writer for MMAOddsbreaker.com. Adam is also the co-host of “The Parting Shot Podcast” on iTunes. His favorite fight of all time is Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua and he wishes Pride never died. Adam is based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and he is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Centennial College. Get in touch with him on Twitter @MMAdamMartin.